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Alexander Schmemann

Needless to say, this is not the Lent I am used to. I am accustomed to picking one or two things to “give up” between Ash Wednesday and Easter. Ascetic fasting is a far greater spiritual as well as dietary challenge. Careful observance of prayers and reading or listening to Orthodox teaching does reveal things that are commonly overlooked. Such as how much we spend on meat and dairy products as compared to simple vegan fare. More importantly that we don’t give up our struggle against sin since sin is foreign to the way God made us. He made Adam and Eve to be in communion with him and lovingly gave them free will to choose obedience or death. By free will we choose death through sin rather than life in the way God created us. Too often, we surrender to the idea that we all sin and fall short of the glory of God. I think (and perhaps this is just my experience) we repent, and get back up thinking that we will sin again because that is the way we were made. We use the Psalm as our reference:

For behold, I was conceived in transgressions, and in sins my mother bore me. — Psalm 51:7

David’s sincere and deeply humble repentance is an admirable pattern for us to follow. But, his words of anguish do not trump our creation:

The God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness. — Genesis 1:26

Then God saw everything He had made, and indeed, it was very good. — Genesis 1:31

If we are to follow the advice of Fr. Alexander Schmemann and live a Lenten Lifestyle, I think we must begin with how we see our life and struggle against sin. God makes good things, he made us, and we are essentially good. Our task is to keep choosing to live in that goodness, that communion with God in a world so imbued with evil that we feel we have no choice but to live with some level or another of hopelessness that holiness is possible. Jesus, the God Incarnate, came to us to prove that we can make the choice. It takes (among other things) humility, sacrifice, love, and a relentless focus on seeking the kingdom of God. And we can choose these things rather than the immediate gratifications and pleasures of this world. We can be seekers of spiritual growth rather than chasers of sensual comforts. This is one reason why Great Lent is what it is in the Orthodox Church. For 40 days (also weekends, Holy Week, and the three weeks before Lent), we can focus our attention on communion with God rather than consuming for our bodies. After Pascha (Orthodox Easter) feasting, there are the weekly fast and other fast to observe and keep us mindful of what was experienced and learned during Great Lent. Except for the pregnant and nursing, ill, very young, and very old; all are expected to keep a strict fast and attend weekly prayers on top of their current disciplines as much as possible. May the Lord keep this church and the church keep the faith of Christ the Incarnate.